


A Medieval Guide to Mines and Minerals: A Song of Love, Loss, and Battle Tactics

by kateKater3



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Kidnapping, Non-Explicit Sex, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Relationship(s), Slavery, Swearing, trigger warning:rape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2016-01-14
Packaged: 2018-05-04 21:03:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5348429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kateKater3/pseuds/kateKater3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruby gasped out in agony against the swift kick that sent them tumbling into the dark cavern entrance of the mine shaft. The heat from the fire crystals buried in the underground sent sulfurous vapors up to the surface of the mine, making them gag as they were once again thrust into the maw of the cave tunnel. So, the Diamond wanted a fire elemental to pick fire crystals, huh? Ruby hoped that whatever purpose the crystals served the hag was worth slaughtering the entire village of Corundum to find them. They could still hear the screams of the dead calling to them as they stared into their fiery purgatory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ashes

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy! This is my first original fanfiction for the Steven Universe fandom. As noted in the tags above, later on in the work there will be mentions of rape and there will be multiple episodes of PTSD, survivor's guilt, and possible anxiety attacks throughout this work. If you have anything that can be triggered by this work, I sincerely ask that you reconsider reading this. 
> 
> If you would like to contact me, leave a note in my inbox or go leave an ask or submit on my tumblr page at  
> http://katelyncooksblog.tumblr.com/
> 
> Now that the PSA has been dealt with, enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited chapter due to the debut of The Answer.

It was quiet. Just as Ruby had awoken from their trauma induced sleep, they noticed that the normally bustling village they called home had fallen unusually silent. Ruby sucked in a breath in a vain attempt to push down the bile that was forcing its way up to their throat. Their head pounded and they rubbed the growing lump on the crown of their skull, resting their gem-hand over their eyes to prevent exacerbating their raging headache. Shakily, they stood and slowly began to survey the surrounding destruction, as if to confirm the horror of the events their memory cruelly threw into their mind’s eye. Mist, (or was that smoke?), hung in the air, casting wraith-like shadows over the ground, causing a sense of dread to sit like a boulder inside Ruby’s gut. 

Ruby was on high alert as they wandered through the wreckage of their village. Rustic lodges that once brought warmth and shelter to the often frigid temperatures of Crystal Spire’s mountain peaks had been reduced to rubble and ash, wooden beams sticking haphazardly from the wreckage like jagged teeth of some terrible predator. Ash whipped through the howling wind, coating everything in a layer of grime that Ruby thought, in a bout of hysteria, was sure to bother their sisters to no end. Just as they had finished that thought, their foot landed on something small and round, breaking the silence with a sickening crunch. Ruby lifted their foot slowly, and upon catching sight of the offending object, promptly turned aside and vomited the contents of their stomach onto the slate of the alleyway they had been investigating. It was another ruby, or rather what remained of it. The normally flawless stone was horribly cracked, a large gash in the stone splitting it in half, making it impossible for the poor soul trapped inside to regenerate. Ruby, shaken, stumbled forward out of the alley. 

Immediately, they regretted ever having woken up from unconsciousness. What greeted them as they stepped forth from the shadows was something that they had thought could only exist in a hellish nightmare. Gem shards were littered across the village square, all of them either cracked, shattered, or completely reduced to dust. Gems they had once regarded as friends and family had been reduced to little more than the ash that clung to their shoulders. Ruby, trembling, took a few weak steps forward before sinking to their knees. Their hands shook as they attempted to gather up the remains of their clan, clutching shards to their chest, as if to tattoo the cuts of their family’s gems into their skin. Red magma oozed from the nicks and cuts they received from the serrated edges of the shattered gems in their hand, yet they continued with their methodical search. Carefully, Ruby gathered all the shards that were scattered in the square and placed them on top of a pile of debris that they had collected for a mass funerary bonfire. 

Ruby carefully dripped the magma from their wounded hands over the shards to start the heating process needed to melt the remains into the cairn. As the magma did its work, the red gem ignited the palms of their hands and set flame to the dried timber, carefully increasing the temperature of the fire until the orange hues of the flames desaturated into a blinding white light, so searing hot that it began to melt the stones together, creating a gleaming red-magenta hued stone altar. Exhausted with their work on the mass cairn, and weak from exertion and grief, Ruby slumped against the massive stone and fell into a heavy sleep. 

A memory surfaced. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“They’re back!” shouted a sentry. 

A small group of much larger red rubies had just arrived from the Capital, having just finished delivering iron from the mountain to the Diamond Authority’s armies. Ruby rushed from the crowd to tackle the largest of the group, a massive ruby that was affectionately titled “Big Red”. The gem chuckled and playfully put Ruby in a headlock, knuckling the top of their skull in greeting. 

“How did the delivery go, Red?” asked Ruby, squirming under Red’s roughhousing. 

Red hoisted them up to sit on her shoulder, replying, “We have officially delivered the last shipment to that Authority. No more mining iron for weapons and no more getting gipped out of payments. From now on, we are officially become Crystal Gems! Now, let's celebrate!” 

Ruby whooped in glee, hanging onto Red’s headband in delight as the larger gem dashed through the crowds, spreading the news of the celebration to take place and to prepare the ceremonial bonfire. Rose Quartz, formerly known as the Diamond’s Sword, had abdicated her position as the Diamond Authority's general and had declared rebellion against the oppressive ruling council. Lady Quartz was widely known for her compassion towards other gems, and was a famed warrior. The rebellion was small in size, but already the Crystal Gems had made several successful raids against the Authority’s forces, freeing gems from enslavement whenever possible. News of her victories spread like wild fire, giving hope to the beleaguered villages still under the Diamonds' control. Now, the time had come for Corundum to once again regain its' freedom, and the prospect of gaining independence after being enslaved for so long was too good to pass up. Every gem scurried about, rubies gathered timber for the bonfire, while the pink sapphires brought out food and drink that, while not necessary for gems, still brought an air of revelry to the occasion that warmed every gem’s heart. 

Tonight was definitely going to be a night to remember.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unbeknownst to Ruby, they were not alone. A pair of glinting yellow eyes glared down at them, watching them hungrily. The fire elemental had been found. Stealthily, the menacing figure slid down the ledges, small pebbles clattering lightly upon the slate of the village walkway. It paused as Ruby sniffled and turned on their side, muttering quietly in their dreams before falling silent again. A much clumsier pair of feet clattered to the ground loudly, groaning as the rest of their body caught up with their legs on the hard slate. The large orange striped gem whipped around ready to berate their companion when Ruby again stirred, causing both gems to freeze in their tracks. Ruby settled once more. 

Jasper snarled, “Idiot! You nearly blew our cover!”

The green gem winced, but then plucked up her courage and replied, “Well, we wouldn’t have to be sneaking around if you had just waited for the rest of the troops to get here! Now, we’re down at least a hundred warrior gems and all we have to show for it is this defective, flame fisted clod!”

Jasper rolled her eyes and huffed impatiently, “Whatever, just write the damn report so we can get Lazuli and get the hell out of here. I’ll take care of this pipsqueak.” With that, Jasper turned and moved her way towards the red gem.

Ruby was curled in a tight ball against their clan’s cairn, eyes clenched tight. The wind that usually ripped through Crystal Spire had turned icy, causing them to keep a small glow present within their gem to at least attempt to ward off the chill of the night. Suddenly, they were jerked awake as a rough hand gripped the back of their habit, and pulled them into the air. Ruby writhed in the air, swinging their fists wildly in a futile attempt to force their attacker to release them. The world spun as they were whirled around to hang face to face with their assailant. They began to struggle once more, this time pounding their boots against the giant’s chest.

“HA!! So, we got a little fighter, huh? Well, how about this?!!”, grated the warrior gem.

Jasper summoned her war-helmet and slammed it down upon the feisty gem.

The world went black, and Ruby knew no more. 


	2. On the Road to Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be a short chapter to tide folks over until after college finals. Will continue with this story once break rolls around, so until then, have a great week!

Ruby was yanked back to the land of the living, no thanks to the orange-striped fist that collided with their already throbbing and swollen face. Magma oozed from a cut bordering the bridge of their nose and spilled into the corners of their mouth, filling it with the tang of iron and magnesium, causing Ruby to gag on their own lifeblood. The world spun before their eyes as they tried to focus on the pair of boots under their nose as they keeled over onto their hands and knees. They were definitely concussed. Ruby tried to shut their eyes as tight as they could to avoid dry-heaving into the dirt, but the soldier gem wasn’t having any of it. 

A sneering face with rancid breath and a feral grin pushed itself into their own, nearly causing Ruby to lose whatever semblance of self-control they had over their churning gut right then and there. 

“Wakey-wakey, fuck-face! You’ve got an appointment at the Capital, you rebel-wanna-be. Get up and start moving!” 

The orange gem laughed at her little quip as she tied up Ruby’s hands and blinded them with an even fouler smelling turnip sack. It was stuffy and claustrophobic with their face in the sack and did little to help guide their movements down the path from the burnt bones of the village to the road towards the Capital. Sweat started to pour down Ruby’s face the more they walked, or stumbled, their way along the path, stinging the cuts on their face and swollen black-eyes. The sun beat down on the pair as they walked, obviously affecting the larger gem as their threats to pick up the pace grew in frequency. After hours of being half-drug, half frog-marched down the road, they finally reached a halfway point. 

The bag was removed from Ruby’s head as they were forced to kneel before two other gems. The first gem was a small Peridot in a green and yellow squire’s robe that was at least two sizes too big for her. Her hair was pulled into an oddly triangular shaped up-do that fluffed out at the ends and ridiculously large glass frames(?) perched on the end of their button nose. Had it not been for the absolute disdain on her face at Ruby’s appearance, they would have said that she looked endearingly awkward. The other gem was a petite Lapis Lazuli wearing a light blue peasant’s blouse and navy blue skirt that had been flirtatiously cut just above her ankles. Her hair was cut short into a swept back bob. When the Lazuli caught sight of Ruby’s face, her water wings were quickly summoned and she fluttered back a good foot, her face twisted in shock and horror at their injuries. 

Ruby blushed angrily and turned away. They had never felt more humiliated before in their life, receiving pity from a gem that served under Stripey the Wonder Bitch. Just when they thought things couldn’t get any more degrading, the green gem began to pace about and jot down notes like they were some interesting type of flora she had never seen before.The gem took out a quill and parchment from the depths of their robe and began to record.

“Log Date 1004565, the flame elemental ruby has been acquired and is being transported to the Capital. Despite its…defective nature, eye witness accounts have confirmed that it is capable in assisting the Diamond Empire in its endeavor to expand and sustain the Authority's control over satellite territories. Due to its erratic and aggressive behavior, maintaining control over a village of similar gems would have been illogical. It can be concluded that the whole-scale eradication of the village of Corundum is safely justified. As requested, the ruby will be brought forth before Her Yellow Majesty in the Capital, guided by Guard Captain Jasper. Transmission Ended, Squire Archivist Peridot, facet five.” 

Now finished with recording the message, the green gem put away her quill and peered curiously at Ruby.

“So, how in the world did a defect like you manage to get the power of fire? What’s so special about you that would make the Empress be willing to spare you? Other than the fact that you are now one of the last of your kind on this miserable planet?”

The green gem was greeted with silence and a harsh glare from Ruby. Before Peridot could come up with another question, Jasper yelled out at the blue gem hanging back on the periphery of their group.

“Enough of this doddling around, I’ve got work to do! Lazuli! Take this message to Lady Blue Diamond and her Seer, and take Peridork with you! I don’t want to hear any more of this science talk until I get back to the Capital with this runt and Empress Yellow Diamond, you got that, brat?”

The blue gem blushed heavily and flinched, but nodded and took off with a running start. As Lapis flew farther into the distance, Peridot started to run after her as fast as she could go, tripping over her robes and yelling at the other gem as she went. Ruby, distracted by the spectacle of their exit, did not see Jasper creep up behind them with the sack again. Before they could even blink, their head had once again been enveloped in darkness. Jasper dragged them into a standing position and started to march, double-time, along the path with Ruby stumbling and falling in an attempt to match her harried pace. Ruby sighed underneath the sack.

This was going to be a long trip. 


	3. Skipping the Track of Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Studying abroad in Germany. Updates will be a little slower due to travel and Wifi issues.

Lapis Lazuli flew into Blue Diamond’s Cloud Temple and was promptly escorted through the halls by a pair of jaspers, report clasped tightly in her hands. As they grew closer to the throne room, the light grew dimmer, casting long shadows against the columns from the torches that blazed through the corridor. Upon arriving in the throne room, Lapis curtsied and kneeled at the base of a large dais, throne wrapped in shadows, obscuring the occupant’s face. The figure’s eyes flicked to the paper the Lazuli held in her hands. 

“Report.”

Lapis bowed her head and began the tale of the captured Ruby.  


After what seemed like hours, Lapis concluded her report. A lithe, blue hand raised gestured for her to rise.

“Thank you, Lapis. Please inform Sapphire of the impending arrival of our Empress. I wish to consult with her before my dear sister’s presence in this sanctuary.”

Lapis departed, hurriedly curtseying before fleeing the throne room. The doors slammed shut, the noise reverberating in the cavernous chamber, shattering the peace of the Diamond’s chambers. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Sapphire sat upon the dais of the altar within Blue Diamond’s Crystal Temple. A soft melody drifted from her lips as she sat listlessly in the flickering torchlight refracted by the blue and white crystals encrusting the walls and ceiling. She sighed. Despite her relaxed exterior, visions flickered wildly in her mind’s eye, revealing the path of fate to her ultimate demise before her mistress in the assassination attempt against Blue Diamond from the Crystal Gems. Sapphire cut the vision off as she heard the frantic pattering of bare feet against the stone of the temple. It wouldn’t do to get distracted by her future vision, even if it was only Lapis. The water elemental stopped before Sapphire, glancing behind her. 

“Mistress, Her Majesty, Blue Diamond, requests your presence in her chambers immediately.” 

Sapphire dipped her head in acknowledgement. 

“Thank you, Lapis. Please notify my Lady that I shall arrive shortly.” 

Lapis nodded and departed quickly. Sapphire sighed in resignation and rose to trudge to her Diamond’s throne chambers. Just as she reached Blue Diamond’s chamber halls, trumpets blasted from the guards standing sentry to the temple, proclaiming Yellow Diamond’s arrival loudly throughout the temple. 

"How odd", Sapphire murmured,"the Empress has arrived early". She shook her head and carried onward through the parting crowd of court members that had assembled for Yellow Diamond's arrival. Sapphire curtsied and clasped her hands before her Diamond. 

Just as Blue Diamond acknowledged her, Yellow Diamond entered, flanked by one jasper and a peridot. Behind the jasper, stood the most bedraggled ruby she had ever seen. The gem looked as though their physical form had been drug through the mines and back again, cuts running deep from their wrists all the way to their neck. Despite the clear signs of physical abuse, though, the ruby was on high alert, dark eyes wide and scanning for any further threat. As Yellow Diamond's contingent walked further into the hall, Sapphire locked eyes-to-bangs with the strange gem. The red gem seemed to forget their footing upon eye contact, their feet getting caught in the binding that held them at bay and stumbled...straight into Sapphire.

The crowd that had gathered around the throne room gasped at the unexpected breach in procedure. Before the jasper could begin haranguing the poor gem, Sapphire held her hands upward in supplication, saying," No, no, that is not necessary, I'm fine. It was bound to happen eventually."

The jasper backed off, lightly cuffing the red gem about the head to get them moving again. As Sapphire stepped once more towards her Lady, she felt a pair of smoldering eyes follow her, hot on her back. The ruby stared openly at her, with an alarming intensity only marred by an endearing flush across their scarred cheeks. Sapphire nodded in acknowledgement with a soft smile, breaking only to curtsy under the suspicious glare of the Empress before breaking through the curtains of Blue Diamonds palanquin.

“Two gems of the Village of Corundum, weak in nature, but with great power, shall rise above the Diamond’s hold on Home World to overthrow the Diamond’s Authority and raise up the Universe's light.”

The prophecy that Sapphire’s predecessor had given to the Empress pushed its way unbidden to mind. Sapphire balked momentarily in surprise before Blue Diamond motioned for her to step forward. The Diamond waited patiently for Sapphire to draw near, then drew a long finger through the bangs of Sapphire’s hair to reveal a single, blue optic complemented by the beautiful blue flush of Sapphire’s cheeks.

The Diamond smirked lightly before gesturing to Sapphire,"Tell me, Sapphire, what shall transpire here?"

Sapphire bowed her head and spoke of the misguided assassination attempt upon the Diamonds, sparing no detail, only stopping when the vision had played out in her mind's eye at what would be her death at the hands of the Rebels. She frowned. The end of the vision that she had watched for centuries had grown...unstable. Upon her dismissal, Sapphire could not help but to meditate on the unusual murkiness of the vision's conclusion. Why was it so unclear? Had the ending changed? She had done nothing to differ from the path that had been set before her since the day that she had emerged from Homeworld's Kindergarten. Perhaps she was over-analyzing the situation. Yellow Diamond drew toward the palanquin to begin some long-winded speech about the power of the Authority and the prosperity brought forth from their conquests, but Sapphire did not listen, too involved in her thoughts to care about paying attention to the verbose ruler.

Too caught up in her musings to notice, Sapphire stared blankly ahead, unaware of the burning gaze that had locked onto her face the moment that she had left her mistress' side. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Ruby winced as the ropes that bound her wrists together re-opened the cuts from earlier chaffing, yet again. Their ass had been hauled to meet with a contingent of warriors escorting Yellow Diamond herself to this exercise in redundancy after a three hour march through dusty roads, curses, lashings, and general physical and emotional abuse that would have turned any other gem into a whimpering mess. Ruby, thanks to the hard nature of their gem, had been able to take whatever beating the orange gem could dish out, albeit with a few new scars to save for posterity. However, the things she said, that was an entirely different matter.

Jasper had made it her personal mission to re-open the fresh wounds of their psyche every chance that she had, whether it be about their defective nature as an elemental, their size, or how weak they were in comparison to their other sisters. Being told how EASY it had been to incapacitate them, to hear the graphic details of the massacre of everyone they loved, of how WEAK they were. Being reminded that they were the LAST of their kind left was bad. Being reminded that THEY were the reason that everyone was dead was a cruel twist of the proverbial knife that had been hacking into them for the entirety of the trip. It was bad enough that they had to lose the gems that were most dear to them, did they have to live in shame for the rest of their life?

For the past three days it had taken their party to reach the Crystal Cloud Temple, Ruby had forced themself to stay awake in order to combat the suffocating nightmares that plagued them. The screams and fire always seemed to grow brighter, louder during the night. Gems, their forms warping in the heat of the flames that seemed to roil and flare from Ruby's hands, would always cry out and grasp at them, trying to pull their form closer and closer to the burning inferno that was Crystal Spire. That had been the first night they had awoken screaming, terrified of the specters they had seen, with no one to comfort them out of the visions that plagued them. The sting of a flail or the brush of skin to skin contact from fist to face was the only warmth they received to alleviate the memory of their re-occurring nightmare, after having startled their guards from sleeping at their posts. The only solution, it seemed, was to either stay awake or to tire themself out enough to sleep without dreaming.

So, they took up pacing.

Ruby had been awake now for over two days since traveling with Yellow Diamond and her troops. Fatigue lined their face like a mask, scarred and ragged from the constant string of beatings that accompanied their now habitual nightly routine. As the stress mounted, the pacing increased. They paced nearly every hour now, their fear, self-loathing, and anger manifesting itself in the form of a caged animal, stumbling, but ready to pounce and attack whomever came too close.

Unfortunately for Ruby, that "unwitting victim" came in the form of Blue Diamond's Seer, a royal blue Sapphire.

Due to their fatigue, wounds, and unstable emotional health, they had tripped over the extra line that they had been given ever since their pacing habit manifested itself. Out of sheer frustration at their own helplessness, Ruby had lurched forward, ready to snap at their obstacle. Fortunately for them, the gem of their ire was very beautiful and stayed calm during the entire rush of events that had sent Ruby crashing into her. Unfortunately, this also meant the gem was very recognizable, and the scene that had just unfolded was now twice as visible as it would have been if it had been any other. Gasps rang out like anvil hammers against metal, sharp and grating, drawing in even more onlookers.

But as Ruby was yanked into a kneeling position for their public humiliation before the nobles, the Sapphire intervened.

Ruby could only look on in shocked amazement as they were hauled to their feet and pushed to stand near the far wall. Why had she saved them? They were a prisoner and she was a noble, weren't nobles supposed to be vicious in their treatment of those of lower castes? Why did she, an aristocrat from bright blue bangs to white gloves, treat them with more kindness than any of the other gems that Ruby had ever interacted with outside of their village? As the Sapphire passed through the parted curtains to Blue Diamond's chambers, Ruby stared intently at their gem hand. Could it be that Sapphire had seen them as more than a pawn to the Diamond Authority?

The lines between friend and foe were blurring with the image of Sapphire's face and any residual resentment towards the noble's presence had been swept away at the sound of her voice, melodic and just as beautiful as the gem that used it. Ruby shook their head in exasperation, looking up only to meet face to face with the gem in question. They flushed hard at having been caught in their contemplation, but did not look away for fear of losing sight of the beautiful noble.

Ruby melted in the glow of the soft smile that was beamed at them as Sapphire seemingly floated past them to join the nobles near Blue Diamond's palanquin.

Just as the Yellow One stepped forward to give a "rousing" speech to the nobles about the supposed "greatness" of the Authority, Ruby looked over once more to catch a glimpse of Sapphire. When they caught sight of her again, she seemed to be troubled, her face a mask of simultaneous worry and resignation. Suddenly, a determined shout rang out through the crowd, drowning out the Diamond's verbose speech.

"Blue Diamond, leave this place! This colony shall not be established in THIS land! For We, are the Crystal Gems!"

Seconds after Rose Quartz and her faithful Pearl became visible to the Authority and the nobles, a flurry of attacks forced four guards back into their gem. Before Ruby could even blink, they had been tossed harmlessly over the Pearl's shoulder. Dazed, Ruby struggled to their knees and looked over their shoulder in time to see the Pearl confront Sapphire, blades at the ready to attack.

Sapphire merely bowed her head, as if accepting the fact that she was about to be poofed. It was like she knew...DAMN IT! Ruby suddenly realized that Sapphire had accepted her death because she had SEEN it coming! With energy igniting the magma within their veins, they launched themself to block the strikes that were going to cut the gentle noble-gem down. Sapphire had been kind, she had cared enough about Ruby to spare them humiliation at the hands of a gem that worked directly for the Empress. After days filled with nothing but torture, she had been the one break through the furious haze that surrounded Ruby's nightmare-riddled mind as a balm to the grief they'd been enduring for the past week after the massacre of their village. There was only one thing that mattered now.

Protect Sapphire.

With that one thought setting their nerves on fire, Ruby bolted with incredible speed toward the blue gem and tackled her out of the way of the slashing twin blades. Sapphire clung to them like a life-line upon impact and Ruby curled around her in mid-air to shield her from any possible attack.

Suddenly, a blinding white light engulfed the two, and Ruby knew no more.


	4. Update Announcement

Sorry, this is an announcement. I am traveling abroad in Germany and WIFI is very bad here. I may not be able to update for long periods of time due to travel. Thanks, have a great week!


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